Robin Meade, the anchor of HLN’s morning show, “Morning Express with Robin Meade,” came to Minnesota around Thanksgiving to interview Laura Sobiech. The section on Zach aired during the last seven minutes of the show, Laura Sobiech said.

“It’s a humbling thing, but we’re thrilled because this highlights his message and his disease and helps us to get the word out,” she said.

“Extraordinary People,” hosted by Meade and Anderson Cooper, reflected on extraordinarily heroic acts in 2013, according to TV Guide.

Also featured were a teaching assistant from Oklahoma who risked her life during a tornado; a Costa Rican immigrant who saved a life during the Boston Marathon bombing; a New York resident who put an end to a fight; and an Atlanta bookkeeper who turned around a school shooting.

Zach Sobiech was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in the fall of 2009. Three years later, he wrote and performed “Clouds” as a farewell to family and friends.

It has received more than 9.2 million hits on YouTube, reached No. 1 on the iTunes singles chart and ranked No. 59 on Billboard’s list of top songs of 2013.

Mary Divine is a reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. She covers Washington County and the St. Croix River Valley, but has also spent time covering the state Capitol. She has won numerous journalism awards, including the Premack Award and the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists' Page One Award. Prior to joining the Pioneer Press in 1998, she worked for the Rochester, Minn., Post-Bulletin and at the St. Joseph, Mo., News-Press. Her work has also appeared in a number of magazines, including Mpls/St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Business Monthly and Minnesota Magazine. She is a graduate of Carleton College and lives in St. Paul with her husband, Greg Myers, and their three children, Henry, 15, Frances, 13, and Fred, 10.

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